


peppermints

by marchpng



Category: Pandora Hearts
Genre: M/M, also it's modern au, because he's too much of a moron to do it himself, break has a migraine and his bf takes care of him, that's it that's the entire fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 17:11:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12512228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marchpng/pseuds/marchpng
Summary: While Reim usually doesn't appreciate headaches, he'll tolerate them if Xerxes Break is their cause.





	peppermints

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in a bout of inspiration to cope with my anxiety. enjoy.

Xerxes Break on a migraine is one of the most difficult things Reim Lunettes ever had to handle.

 

It’s not unusual for the albino to suddenly walk around with a frown on his face. Bad moods are easily decipherable from the way his clothing looks uncared for, the sleeves not symmetrical, the colors not matching, a single earring instead of two, and no make-up accompanying his miserable expression. Reim knows how to handle that. It’s not difficult to bribe his boyfriend with candy if you know what kind of candy goes with which mood. ( Peppermint for grumpy days, strawberry on good ones, lemon when he has the desire to brutally murder Vincent Nightray. ) It’s also not difficult to carry at least one kind of candy for each possible mood around each day. Yeah, bad moods are something he can handle. Any other mood is bearable, as well. But migraines? Migraines are a combination of everything Xerxes Break hates.

 

The first time he witnessed Break getting a migraine, they’ve just moved in together. Reim wasn’t used to waking up together with Break, he didn’t know whether he wakes up early or late, whether he likes to stay in bed for half an hour after waking up, stealing the heat Reim would leave behind on the blanket -- because if there’s one thing sure, it’s that Reim Lunettes isn’t someone who sleeps in, even on weekends -- or if he gets up instantly, with too much energy in his bones to keep still or cuddle. So, when Break instinctively flinched as soon as the brunette opened their windows, letting the early summer sun shine into their bedroom, he wasn’t sure if it was because of general sleepiness or an actual headache.

 

He would be rid of the burden of not knowing pretty quickly. It didn’t take long for Break to bury himself in a pile of blankets, only his hair poking out between pink and purple covers. Back then, Reim’s actions and decisions were messy, uncertain of what to do, considering that he’s never seen Xerxes like this. He tried to touch him, get him to talk to him, but none of his efforts were rewarded with success. Quite the opposite, actually. All he got was a hissing boyfriend who refused to admit what’s wrong. ( As if it’s such an inhumane thing to get a headache, but of course, Break’s pride wouldn’t allow him to think past that. ) In the end, he spent the day taking care of the other, cautiously talking around the issue, bringing him tea and cakes and cookies, only to hold his hair back as he ended throwing them up a few hours later. He made mental notes on what to do and what not to do. For example, how Break will definitely get frustrated with himself because he can’t move without feeling pain, and how his frustration will lessen as soon as you put a wet towel on his head. Cuddling also helps, but Reim only found that out the third of fourth time Break got a migraine, because he wouldn’t allow him to touch him until that point. And sleep. A lot of sleep.

 

Now, however, as they’ve shared this apartment for more than two years, it doesn’t take more than a second for Reim to figure out what’s going on. He sees how Xerxes curls up into a ball as soon as he moves off the bed, arms reaching for the blanket to wrap it around himself again after Reim woke him up, and he sighs. He would have to call Pandora while getting them their breakfast. Reason for his absence? A sick boyfriend who’s incapable of taking care of himself.

 

“Lie. I’ll get you something to drink.” A glass of water with some of the ice they keep in the fridge, he’ll save the coffee for later. No coffee, not now. The sooner Break settles into the state of not doing anything stupid out of bed for a day, the better, and caffeine isn’t going to help with that. They’ll start slow. A toast with butter and honey. Cold water. It’s a plan, and although there’s always some complaining about the sugar-lacking food, it’s what helps best. And sure enough, Break grumbles something about how he doesn’t deserve this as soon as he’s given the tablet where everything was neatly placed on, but he accepts it nevertheless, only halfway covered in blankets, leaning against the headboard of their bed. It’s peaceful, and although Reim knows there’s a bit more to do than that, he stays and watches for a second. Until, eventually, Break makes a snarky comment and he leaves to call Pandora.

 

His boss is understanding. Reim doesn’t outright state that he’s staying home because of Break, but after years of working at the same company together most people realize that it’s difficult to keep them apart. Even if it’s just a short amount of time — Wherever Reim goes, Break is sure to lurk in the background somewhere, wherever Break goes, Reim is sure to follow behind closely, always watching his back. And while they’re not the kind of couple that can’t go a minute without loudly exclaiming their relationship status, it’s still evident in the obvious trust and appreciation that’s constantly being shown. The quiet gazes that last a second but contain entire conversations. The way Break doesn’t flinch when Reim puts a hand on his shoulder, the way Reim relaxes as soon as Break wraps his arms around him from behind. No, they don’t run around and scream about how much they love each other, but it’s clear either way.

 

Reim apologizes one last time, listens to Oscar disregarding it casually, and says a final goodbye. As he puts the telephone away, he takes a moment to settle and steady himself. This isn’t a day for himself. It’s not one to sit back and relax. It’s one to try and figure out which pillow Break wants behind his back, because it’s never the same, and not get irritated when he suddenly doesn’t like his favourite kind of tea anymore. He can handle that. It’ll be rewarded the next time he catches one of his colds. Break will just kiss that one away.

 

As he returns to the bedroom, Break has dozed off. The tablet on his lap is dangerously tilted and Reim has to rush to get it out of the way, the glass of water only halfway empty. The toast, naturally, already gone. Even with a headache, Xerxes Break still isn’t reasonable enough to stop wolfing everything that’s even slightly sweet down as if his life depends on it. He stirs, the brunette’s hurried movements shaking him out of his daze. In the back of his mind, Reim regrettably notes that this would’ve been the moment for Break to sleepily sneak an arm around his neck and pull him into bed again, but, well, not with a headache. With a headache, he just snarls at his boyfriend and swats him away. Which won’t stop Reim from leaning forward and kissing his forehead tenderly, though.

 

“Xerxes, you need to drink your water. I’ll bring you some medicine to take, okay? I know you don’t like the taste, but it’ll help.” A grumble is the only confirmation he gets, but he’ll take it, exiting the room and Break’s sour mood to get the pills his doctor prescribed him. Back when they just moved in, he didn’t even have them. Reim remembers snapping at him in frustration, mostly because he couldn’t understand why Break just wouldn’t visit a _doctor._ His never ending worry eventually led to a long conversation about the albino’s anxiety, and so the topic was approached more carefully. They picked one together, a doctor, went there hand in hand. Now, the monthly visits are more of a habit than anything, because although Break is still horrible at taking care of himself, he at least makes an effort. Even if it’s just for Reim’s comfortableness, it’s something.

 

Reim returns swiftly, his arm wrapped around Break’s back to steady him as he takes the pink pills with a frown on his pale features. This is also something they had to work on, Reim supporting him physically. Sometimes he wonders why fate had to throw a soulmate at him that hated to accept even the slightest bit of help. Once Reim set the empty glass on his bedtable, Break sticks out his tongue at him, mutters something about it being bitter and how much he hates Reim, and it takes a lot of him to not lean forward and lick over Break’s lips just to prove the opposite of that statement.

 

There’s no way in hell he’s gonna risk being bitten, though, so he just makes sure Break settles back into his pillows and goes to prepare a hot water bag for him.

 

This goes on for some time. Reim running around in their little apartment, his feet softly padding on the wooden floor. There’s blankets being changed, several pillows being thrown around, a pathetic attempt at watching Break’s favourite show before concluding that his headache is, what a surprise, too strong to look at the bright screen for more than five minutes. They settle for Reim reading him from his favourite book. In between, Reim has to pause and gets up to make coffee. Not because he thinks it’s a good idea, but because he couldn’t listen to another minute of Break’s whining. They drink from the cup together, not the only but first touch Break intentionally shares with him today.

 

Reim’s lips linger on the edge of the cup longer than they need to.

 

It doesn’t take long until the sun starts setting, something that would’ve surprised anyone else, but not him. It’s normal for time to go by a bit faster when he spends his entire day with Break. A migraine might make him a bit less charming than usual ( and he can hear Sharon laughing at him for suggesting Xerxes is anything similar to _charming_ ) but that doesn’t change the fact that he loves spending time with him. There’s something calming in the way of knowing what to do, figuring his way around those migraine days. Somehow, it reminds him of how much they’ve changed throughout the years. From two people who’d gotten undeniably close without knowing how to handle their emotions, to a couple that understands each other without words. He sighs, sets the book onto his lap for a second. Glances at the white mop of hair that’s all he could see from his boyfriend since he decided to place his head onto his shoulder. Quietly. And while the silence made clear that he’s still not feeling all too well, the touch itself promises improvement.

 

He wants to say something like ‘We should go to sleep if you want to go to work tomorrow’ or ‘If you keep sitting like that you’ll have a backache later on and I’m not massaging it again’. It’s what he plans to say as he opens his mouth. “I love you,” is what he says instead.

 

Break doesn’t react, and Reim doesn’t expect him to. If a touch is a lot on his sick days, a declaration of love is even more, often too much. After an amount of time that felt like eternity but was probably something around a minute, a hand sneaks into his own, linking their fingers together. Reim squeezes it. Then he uses the free one to continue reading from the book. They can wait for the sun to set. Taking one more moment of silence and warmth surely isn’t asking too much, right? Especially after he worked the whole day to get his boyfriend through the pain as easy as possible.

 

He’s starting to feel a headache of his own in the back of his head, but he doesn’t mind. The way Break nuzzles into his shoulder is all he needs to make up for it.

 

Halfway through the next chapter, Break’s hand in his squeezes back.

 

Reim smiles.

 


End file.
